Impacted wisdom teeth and their complications

Definition of wisdom teeth

What we call wisdom teeth are actually molar teeth. Normally, there are four wisdom teeth in the mouth of every person, but some people naturally have less number, one at the top and one at the bottom on each side of the mouth. These teeth grow inside the bone like all other teeth, but they are the last teeth to grow. Wisdom teeth start to form at the age of 9. These teeth are formed in a small cavity and grow inside the upper and lower jaw. First, the crowns of these teeth grow and then they are completed around the age of 14. At the end of adolescence, around 18-19 years old, when the roots are almost formed, the wisdom tooth starts to come out from between the bones and moves towards the inside of the mouth, sometimes the wisdom tooth is unable to come out.

Now, it is not bad to check the reason why the wisdom tooth does not grow. For this purpose, we must first know how wisdom teeth come out.

Eruption of wisdom teeth

As the roots of the wisdom teeth grow, the tooth in the bone begins to slowly move upward, and only the crown of the tooth enters the mouth. The root part is firmly fixed inside the bone.

Until the age of 19, the jaw grows almost enough. Some jaws are large enough to allow wisdom teeth to grow in that space. As soon as the crowns of the wisdom teeth are fully erupted, the wisdom teeth can participate in chewing, so the belief that all wisdom teeth must be extracted is a misconception.

Wisdom tooth impaction

So far, let’s briefly remind that if there is enough space for the wisdom tooth to come in, this tooth will grow naturally and be placed in the oral cavity. But what happens when there is not enough space for wisdom teeth to come out?

The answer is that the tooth is trapped inside the bone, which is also called an impacted tooth.

A hidden tooth can have different situations, in this case you can read the following article:

Factors affecting the growth of teeth and the reasons for their impact

But the roots of wisdom teeth are usually twisted and curved, in which case it will be longer and more difficult to remove the tooth.

It should be noted that the curvature of the roots is a principle or rule and not an exception. Sometimes, some wisdom teeth are partially embedded, which should be noted that a tooth whose entire crown is free of gum and bone is a non-embedded tooth. They say, and otherwise it is divided into hidden and semi-hidden teeth.

Now the question arises, how can the dentist notice the wisdom tooth hidden in the patient?

During the examination of the mouth and teeth and preparing the radiographic image, the dentist notices that the wisdom tooth is hidden. It is not easy to apply this sentence “Let sleeping dogs lie” to the wisdom tooth. Because wisdom teeth can cause a series of problems.

Cases in which wisdom tooth removal is recommended:

1- Gum infection (or Pericoronitis)

This condition is very common around wisdom teeth; Because cleaning the last tooth is difficult. Therefore, food particles and bacteria easily accumulate behind the second molar and cause an infection around the crown of the wisdom tooth. In this case, the gum will be completely swollen and will be accompanied by a lot of pain. Most people think that this pain is related to teething.

You can read the following article about gum diseases:

Learn more about gum diseases and gum surgery

2- Bone infection

If the gum infection is not treated, it can spread to the wisdom tooth that is located in the bone and cause the destruction of the tooth and the jaw bone that is around it. A bone infection that is deep can progress for years without the patient feeling it. This infection can even spread to the tooth adjacent to the wisdom tooth and cause the patient to lose the adjacent tooth in addition to the wisdom tooth.

3- An infection that enters the cheek or neck areas through the bone

Swelling of the face, high fever, difficulty opening the mouth, or difficulty swallowing food may indicate an infection caused by wisdom teeth.

4- Damage to other teeth

An impacted third molar can create a constant pressure on the back of the second molar. This pressure causes the destruction of the second molar tooth for a long time without the patient feeling anything.

5- Cyst

There is a bag (sac) around the wisdom tooth inside the bone, which normally disappears after the wisdom tooth erupts. But if the tooth remains hidden, this bag will remain and will be filled by the liquid that enters it from the surrounding tissue. This bag becomes a cyst, which is actually a bag filled with fluid and unusual. This cyst can destroy the bone during its growth.

6-  Pain

An impacted tooth can cause nerve pain. For unknown reasons, severe enamel pain can spread to other parts of the head and neck. Among other things, it can cause headache, pain in the ears, pain in the neck and throat, and pain in the lower jaw teeth, as well as facial pain and upper jaw teeth.

You can read the following articles about toothache and its treatment methods:

Why do teeth hurt and this pain increases at night?

What is toothache and how to get rid of it at home?

7- Pre-prosthesis treatment

Before the patient reaches old age or puts a prosthesis in the tooth, the implanted tooth must be removed, because this implanted tooth may be close to the ridge due to bone loss and cause trauma to the soft tissue between this tooth and the artificial tooth. Inflammation and infection often occur in the soft tissue, and in addition, in old age, tissue repair does not take place well, and if the jawbone degeneration is severe, the patient’s jaw may break when the wisdom tooth is removed. It should be noted that even at a young age, if the hidden teeth are located in the corners of the jaw, it will reduce the thickness of the bone in these areas, and as a result, the jaw will be prone to fracture due to trauma. Of course, it should be noted that most prosthodontists prefer to leave the upper wisdom teeth in late youth in patients who need to use prostheses instead of extracting them; Because surgery to remove it may cause loss of maxillary tuberosity.

8- Tooth moving

In some cases, pressure from an impacted molar causes other teeth to be pushed out of the line of occlusion. This can cause problems in the patient’s chewing.